It's Florida.
In the three horrific years I lived there, I had a home invasion and few bad things happen on my bike.
I learned to carry weapons, when you hear "HEY, THATS MY BIKE", ride away like your life depends on it, cuz it does,
and giving hand signals will summon people seemingly out of nowhere who will ask "wutchoo need?"

It's Florida.
In the three horrific years I lived there, I had a home invasion and few bad things happen on my bike.
I learned to carry weapons, when you hear "HEY, THATS MY BIKE", ride away like your life depends on it, cuz it does,
and giving hand signals will summon people seemingly out of nowhere who will ask "wutchoo need?"

Obviously you lived in the wrong part of Florida.

__________________The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. - Psalm 103:8

I don’t ride the Pinellas trail too much, but I was on this section several times last year during late summer. It is a fairly peaceful stretch, nothing that would particularly suggest a problem. Unfortunately, this kind of crap happens everywhere these days in the Gunshine state. Not that it was all that bad advice from the police, but came across as a pretty weak response to the attack.